Even though most of us have electronic maps on our smart phones, Iowans continue picking up and using the trusty ole’ paper state road map you have to unfold.

Mark Hansen, a transportation planner at the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the 2017-2018 edition of the Iowa map is now available and it features about 200 changes from the last edition, most of them to roads.

“We have the new Grand Prairie Parkway interchange that was added west of the Des Moines metro area,” Hansen says. “We have Iowa 100 that was added in the Cedar Rapids area and we had the rerouting of US 71 in the Sac City area.”

The latest map also reflects two Iowa towns that have unincorporated: Center Junction in Jones County and Mount Union in Henry County.

“They are still on the map, we just changed the symbology from an incorporated area to an unincorporated area,” Hansen says. “Essentially, they go from a double circle to a single circle.” Even in this era of Google Maps you can easily maneuver with your thumb and forefinger, he says hundreds of thousands of Iowans continue demanding the old-school maps for their glove boxes.

“We’re finding that people still like to have the paper map to go along with their GPS navigation devices because sometimes their devices aren’t up to date or the devices route them the wrong way,” Hansen says. “Having the paper form allows them to travel across the state and plan their entire route.” The maps are printed every two years and this latest run featured 1.6 million Iowa road maps, about the same as in past years.

“The maps are available at the welcome centers, the rest areas, the DOT district offices,” Hansen says. They’re also available online at www.iowadot.gov/maps

Governor Kim Reynolds urges Iowans to slow down or pull over when they see a utility vehicle on the roadways.

Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a proclamation urging Iowans to abide by a new state law that penalizes motorists who fail to slow down or pull into another lane when passing a utility maintainence vehicles.

“Utility workers already have very dangerous, high-risk jobs,” Reynolds said this morning, “so moving over and slowing down protects not only those utility workers, but also you and everyone else on the road.”

Corey Birkel, a lineworker for Alliant Energy, is based in Dubuque and he’s “more concerned” about passing drivers than the high-voltage lines he’s fixing.

“There are more distracted drivers out there on the roads today,” he said during a news conference in Des Moines. “Even when we put our bright orange cones out and turn on our flashing lights, they don’t always see us or change the way they drive.”

While there have been no fatal accidents involving motorists and utility crews, more than 500 pieces of MidAmerican utility equipment have been struck by a passing motorist so far this year. Jim Dougherty is MidAmerican’s vice president for electric delivery.

“The reason we collect that statistic and then communicate it to our employees is to raise awareness around the phenomenon of distracted driving,” Jim Dougherty, MidAmerican’s vice president for electric delivery, said. “Whatever the cause of that is, it’s a reality for our employees.”

John Dvorak, safety director of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, said last fall line REC crews working at the side of Iowa roads reported many “close calls.”

“Our crews set up bright orange cones, signs and our bright yellow trucks with their flashing lights activated,” Dvorak said. “People still didn’t give them room to do their work.”

Motorists who fail to slow down or move over when passing a utility vehicle now — because of the new law — can be fined or, in extreme cases, can lose their drivers license. Since 2002, Iowa law has required motorists to keep a reasonable distance when passing emergency vehicles like police squad cars, fire trucks and ambulances.

(A previous version of this story indicated 500 MidAmerican utility vehicles had been hit this year. MidAmerican has clarified it’s 500 pieces of utility equipment, including utility poles.)

The blue sky and silos on Iowa’s license plates may be giving way to a new design.

Andrea Henry of the Iowa Department of Transportation says the agency is exploring some new options. She admits there are always lots of opinions what to put on the plates to best represent the state.

“Obviously it’s difficult to encompass all that’s great about Iowa into one simple license plate design. What we do is, we are having our designers work on a variety of different designs and present those to the governor,” Henry says. “And if she is okay with that, then we plan to take that out to the public and have them vote on the ultimate final design.”

The state now has several different specialty plates that let you show your support for your favorite college team, or let everyone know you are a teacher or firefighter. But most Iowans still use the standard state plate.

“We have 4.4 million license plates in the state of Iowa on all types of vehicles, and about 4.2 million of those are the standard issue plates,” according to Henry. The current design for the plates was first used 20 years ago. There was a change in the order of the letters on the plates back in 2011.

“That was an issue of having enough combination of numbers. And we also changed the color — that was a production issue — and it also makes it more visible from law enforcement to be able to ready those plates,” Henry says. The letters went from a blue to a black color. Henry says they are hoping to finish the process this fall.

She says they will meet soon with the governor to discuss some draft designs and then would have some finalized designs out for the public to vote on in mid August. Henry says they’ll announce how the voting process works once they have the final design choices selected. New license plates are made by the prisoners at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Most laws passed by the 2017 Iowa legislature go into effect this Saturday, July 1, including one about motorists involved in fender-benders.

Senator Waylon Brown of St. Ansgar said it directs people involved in wrecks that only result in damage to the vehicle to get out of traffic as soon as possible.

“Current law requires the driver to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene,” Brown said during senate consideration of the change. “Research shows that every minute a vehicle remains on the travel portion of the road, the risk of a secondary crash increases by 2.8 percent.”

Supporters say this new requirement for drivers who are not hurt in an accident may reduce chain-reaction accidents.

“The DOT Is going to be doing public campaigns to ensure Iowans are aware of this law change,” Brown said, “which will now require them to move off the travel portion of the road, if possible.”

This new law got unanimous support in the legislature. Another new law that passed the House and Senate without a dissenting vote lets all-terrain vehicles cross state highways at designated intersections. Senator Dan Zumbach of Ryan described the new law as a boost to recreational use of ATVs.

“This is bringing together many of the ATV trails that have tried to survive and move forward in the state of Iowa and is just one more step to make that economy spin even larger,” Zumbach said.

Representative Scott Ourth of Ackworth said farmers will benefit from this new law, too.

“I know those who haul feed back and forth now will be able to simply cross the road rather than go some circuitous route to get to their feedlot across some road somewhere,” Ourth said.

Another new law lets vehicles be parked with the engine running, without someone inside. It updates state law to deal with remote starters. Some cities have had ordinances barring cars from idling without someone inside, fearing the gears in running vehicles could slip into drive and cause accidents. This new law had just one opponent in the 150-member legislature.

As of this Saturday, a motorist in Iowa can be pulled over if a police officer suspects the driver is paying attention to a screen inside the vehicle rather than the road.

Many new state laws take effect July 1, including the new crackdown on “texting while driving.” Legislators, though, acknowledge it’ll be difficult for law enforcement to write tickets.

The new law still lets people use an electronic device to talk or to navigate with some sort of GPS app. Representative Gary Worthan of Storm Lake said during House debate this spring that the law specifically prohibits police from seizing the phone without a warrant.

“If the person is stopped, they can say: ‘Well, I was just dialing a phone number,'” Worthan said. “The officer, to prove otherwise, would have to…get a search warrant from a magistrate before they could seize that phone or go to the phone company and get records.”

According to Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City, the new law is just an “incremental” step.

“I think it’s hard to explain what we’re doing here to the average Iowan,” Bolkcom said during senate debate.

Former Governor Branstad and a coalition of safety advocates had urged legislators to pass a “hands-free” law instead. The ticket for motorists who admit to texting, Snapchatting or even playing a game while driving is $30. Court fees will be tacked onto that.

Lawmakers like Worthan cited data indicating “lane departures” are causing more accidents and officials suspect the trend is due to the use of smart phones.

A long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony is taking place this afternoon in Bettendorf.

The ceremony is jointly organized by the departments of transportation of both Iowa and Illinois. It officially kicks off the reconstruction of the Interstate-74 bridge between Bettendorf and Moline, Illinois. The governors of both states will participate along with local officials.

Last month, the Iowa DOT awarded a $322 million contract – the largest in its history — to a Wisconsin company to build the bridge. It will have two 3,400 feet spans, each with two large arches. Construction is expected to begin next month. The work will take about three years.

Reynolds also lists reconstruction of the interchange in the Iowa City area where Interstate 80 and Interstate 380 intersect. Upgrades to the Des Moines Airport Terminal are fifth on Reynolds’ priority list.

A new interactive map on the Iowa Department of Transportation website offers Iowans a glimpse into the conditions of the state’s 24-thousand bridges.

The DOT’s Andrea Henry says the map is searchable by county, city or state legislative district and it indicates whether bridges are in good, fair or poor condition.

“We want to make sure people understand where the issues lie on the system and what we’re doing about those,” Henry says, “and to get a little glimpse into some of the resources necessary to be able to help us make decisions.”

The map was created to help elected officials make decisions about repairs, considering whether some bridges have become structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Henry says regular citizens can also check out bridges nearby.

“For the general public, they may be able to have an awareness of what bridges to avoid or where they may need to be concerned about any potential deterioration of a bridge condition,” Henry says. “However, really this map is primarily more for decision-makers.”

Data collected this month shows 79 percent of drivers on a section of interstate that passes through Cedar Rapids were speeding at least 12 miles an hour above the posted limit. The data comes from traffic enforcement cameras.

The cameras were no longer issuing tickets, but were left on to capture data. Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman says an “alarming rate” of drivers were speeding.

“The drivers of these vehicles, I do not know if they are aware or if they care that they are putting other lives at risk, to include their own,” Jerman says.

In late April, a judge ruled the Iowa DOT had the authority over where speed cameras may be placed along interstates. The DOT ordered that traffic cameras placed along the S-curve of Interstate-380 that runs through downtown Cedar Rapids be shut off, along with a handful of other cameras located along interstates in other metro areas. Cedar Rapids left its cameras on and one camera clocked a vehicle going 102 miles an hour.

“Through that stretch of roadway, the speed limit is 55 for a reason and going almost double 55 miles an hour is just insane,” Jerman says.

This week, a judge has ordered Cedar Rapids to turn off the traffic enforcement cameras. Cedar Rapids may appeal that decision. Jerman says this new data in Cedar Rapids showing driving speeds increased once the cameras no longer issued tickets shows traffic enforcement cameras help reduce speeds.

“It’s all about public safety,” Jerman says. “The evidence is overwhelming.”

Jerman says it’s “extremely hazardous” for his officers to pull vehicles over on the portion of interstate that runs through downtown Cedar Rapids, plus traffic stops on that S-curve can cause other drivers to “panic” and cause accidents.

Iowa’s governor and lieutenant governor are urging drivers on Iowa roads to be on the look-out because it’s planting season.

“This means an increase in slow-moving vehicles and farm machinery on the roads,” Branstad said this morning at his weekly news conference. “And these vehicles are out not only from sunrise to sunset, but oftentimes after dark on our country roads which can be narrow and hilly and that can make passing very difficult.”

In 2016, there were 199 accidents in Iowa involving farm vehicles. So far this year, there have been 27 crashes and one person was killed when a pick-up crashed into a tractor. That wreck has been in the national news. Chris Soules, a recent star on ABC’s “The Bachelor” reality TV series, has been charged with felony hit and run for the accident that killed a neighboring farmer.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds said neither she nor Branstad are commenting on the case.

Reynolds is urging Iowans to take care while driving in construction zones.

“Ninety-four percent of crashes are due to human behavior and that means there is a huge opportunity to change those statistics,” Reynolds said. “Many of the safety tips for driving around farm machinery translate here, too. Avoid distractions. Leave plenty of room between you and the car in front of you and slow down. After all, fines in work zones are doubled.”

During the 2017 construction season, there will be about 500 work zones on state-maintained interstates and highways, plus hundreds more on county roads.